In the related art, when semiconductor components or flat panel displays are manufactured, a substrate processing apparatus is used to perform a liquid processing such as, for example, a cleaning process or an etching process for a substrate such as, for example, a semiconductor wafer and a liquid crystal substrate, with various kinds of processing liquids, and then, to perform a dry processing that removes the processing liquids remaining on the substrate.
In the substrate processing apparatus, a phenomenon called a substrate surface pattern collapse occurs in which the pattern of the substrate surface collapses by the action of the surface tension of the processing liquid remaining on the substrate during the dry processing. The pattern collapse occurs as the aspect ratio becomes higher according to the miniaturization of the pattern of a substrate surface such as, for example, an etching mask pattern and a circuit pattern formed on the substrate surface.
In the conventional substrate processing apparatus, a substrate is processed with a processing liquid using a liquid processing unit, and thereafter, the substrate is subjected to a dry processing in which the processing liquid remaining on the surface is substituted with a fluid of supercritical state (a supercritical fluid) and then is evaporated using a supercritical dry processing unit.
In the substrate processing apparatus that performs the supercritical dry processing, a substrate transport unit is provided to transport a substrate to the liquid processing unit or the supercritical dry processing unit.
The substrate processing apparatus carries a substrate in a dry-state before the liquid processing into the liquid processing unit through an opening of the liquid processing unit using the substrate transport unit. In the liquid processing unit, the surface of the substrate is subjected to a liquid processing, and then, coated with an anti-dry liquid (e.g., an organic solvent such as isopropyl alcohol) to make the surface of the substrate in a wet-state. Thereafter, the substrate in a wet-state after the liquid processing is carried out from the same opening of the liquid processing unit to be transported to the supercritical dry processing unit using the substrate transport unit which is used at the time when the substrate is carried into the liquid processing unit. In the supercritical dry processing unit, the anti-dry liquid coated on the surface of the substrate is substituted with carbon dioxide of supercritical state, and then the carbon dioxide is discharged, thereby drying the surface of the substrate. Thereafter, the substrate in a dry-state after the dry processing is carried out from the supercritical dry processing unit using the same substrate transport unit.
As described above, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, a substrate in a dry-state before the liquid processing or a substrate in a wet-state after the liquid processing (before the dry processing) is carried into/out through the same opening using the same substrate transport unit. See, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-329650.